Old Brods Ladies top of the table despite defeat at Skipton

Following some pick and go’s from a Roses scrum saw Skipton put the ball through the backs and centre Jennie Hoggatt crossed for the first try of the game. This was then converted by Kerys Hey to put the Roses up by 7.

The rest of the half was a real battle between the forwards with hard tackling forcing a lot errors on both sides leading to scrums with not much progress being made before half time.

At half time the Brods made some substitutions to put some fresh bodies on the pitch. The game restarted with a kick deep into the Skipton half putting the Roses under pressure, forcing a knock on.

There was more back and forth but a high tackle from Roses saw a quick penalty taken by Brods to make some real mileage. A try was nearly scored by winger Clara Owen, but she was bundled into touch on the 5m line.

The Roses then played some smart attacking lines with led to a try to Skipton taken over by Lottie Knowles. High winds resulted in the conversion by Steph Roe being unsuccessful.

Brods seem to have found the motivation they needed as they switched on with some aggressive tackling and following some domination of the rucks they managed to keep possession for quite some time working away at the Roses defence.

Some quick passing across the line got the ball to centre, Imogen Travers who with a superb handoff found herself scoring a corner try. It was Vice-Captain Charlotte Kay who stepped up to take the difficult conversion, but due to wind and distance it was unsuccessful leaving the score at 12-5.

The Brods fitness training was paying off as they started to win back the scrums in the second half, after having no luck in the first, leading to several breaks but no tries.

The game continued as Brods were hungry to equalise the score. A quick blindside offload from Bunbury found its way into the hands of Captain Erin Donald who ran half the pitch, stepping 3 defenders to place the ball down in the corner with seconds to spare. The corner conversion taken again by Kay fell short of the distance needed and the game finished 12-10 to Skipton.

Following the weekends fixtures this leaves Brods Ladies top of the league table.

The Brods players of the match were Jai Gomersall and Imogen Travers. The oppositions pick player of the match was Elena Bunbury.

Coach Nick Akerman said: “It was a tough loss to take as the game could have gone either way. We took a while to settle into it and come into our stride, but the second half was like watching a different team. I’m confident we can take a lot of positives away from this and come back stronger. What a great match for women’s rugby!”

Captain Erin Donald commented: “That was one of the toughest matches we’ve ever played. The level of strength and aggression was incredible to be a part of and we truly were tested. I’m immensely proud of the girls and how we came together, it’s only up from here. Thank you to Skipton for being great hosts.”